113: Chapter 113 Recruitment

In the dense forest of the valley, Chen Jiancang and the Meng Family members quietly waited for the stragglers in the valley to walk into the trap.

In fact, in their opinion, the battle inside the valley had no suspense; unless there were Foundation Establishment Stage enemies inside this valley, with Meng Changxiu, this Foundation Establishment cultivator present, it was absolutely impossible for any stragglers to escape.

However, just as everyone was waiting at ease, a fiery red sword light shot out from the valley.

"Stop him!" Meng Changyi, with his Qi Refining Ninth Layer strength, was the first to strike. A First Order High Grade spirit sword in his hand was like a swimming dragon entering the sea, drawing a curve and thrusting directly at Du Old, who was busy fleeing.

"Not good!"

He had originally thought that with the trapping Formation temporarily controlling Meng Changxiu, he would be able to seize this opportunity to escape, but he never expected that the Meng Family had actually set up an inescapable net outside this valley.

"Old Woman He Qian, you truly deserve to die." Du Old's beard and hair flew wildly. If it weren't for Old Woman He Qian's guarantee, he would definitely have made his own arrangements. At the very least, if this place was surrounded by the Meng Family, he would have received an early warning. How could he be in such a sorry state as he was now?

Du Old only had Qi Refining Eighth Layer strength. With the help of the Formation's power, he could still contend with a Foundation Establishment cultivator for a bit, but now, without the Formation's assistance, he was just an ordinary Qi Refining Eighth Layer cultivator.

Meng Changyi struck with full force, holding nothing back. The sword light reached Du Old's vicinity in an instant, piercing his protective spiritual light.

The protective spiritual light shattered in response, and the Flying Sword instantly pierced through Du Old's shoulder, scattering a mist of blood in the air.

Meng Changyi did not delay in the slightest, forming a sword incantation with his hand. The Flying Sword instantly changed direction, slicing horizontally towards Du Old's body.

However, just as Meng Changyi's sword light was about to succeed, a green light flashed like lightning, accurately striking the First Order High Grade spirit sword.

The huge impact caused the spirit sword to deviate from its original trajectory, grazing Du Old's clothes and flying away, its body buzzing.

"Changyi, stop for now!" Meng Changxiu's voice came from afar, accompanied by a wave of spiritual energy, and his figure instantly appeared before everyone.

Meng Changyi looked at Meng Changxiu with a face full of surprise and asked, "Big Brother, what is the meaning of this?"

Meng Changxiu's gaze was calm. Looking at Du Old, whose shoulder was bleeding profusely, who was in a sorry state but had a vigilant expression, he slowly said, "I know you are a First Order top-grade Formation Master. It would be a pity for such a talent to perish here. Now I will give you a chance: swear a Dao Heart oath, submit and become my subordinate, and serve my Meng Family. I will spare your life."

Upon hearing this, Du Old's expression brightened. If he could preserve his life, he naturally couldn't ask for more.

After all, he was controlled by the Guardian under duress, so he couldn't be considered truly loyal; in fact, he was even a little fortunate.

However, the joy lasted only for an instant. At this moment, he also wanted to agree to save his life, but all of them had been afflicted with the Doom Poison Gu by the Guardian. If they didn't receive the antidote regularly, they would die from the rampaging Gu worms gnawing at their internal organs.

Du Old smiled bitterly, and the hope for survival that had just ignited was instantly extinguished by the shadow of the Doom Poison Gu.

He raised his eyes to look at Meng Changxiu, his eyes filled with helplessness and despair: "Meng Clan Leader, it's not that I don't want to agree, but I cannot help myself. I have been afflicted with the Doom Poison Gu by the Guardian. If I don't get the antidote, even if I surrender, I won't live for more than a month."

Meng Changxiu's sword-like eyebrows furrowed slightly. He had heard of such insidious things as the Doom Poison Gu. When it acted up, the afflicted person felt as if countless insects were gnawing at their body, causing extreme pain with no cure.

Only the one who cast the Gu could provide the antidote periodically to extend life, and the method for concocting the antidote was not fixed, entirely depending on the caster's own preparation. Besides the caster themselves, there was no way to decipher it.

Meng Changyi also showed a difficult expression: "Big Brother, what should we do about this? Are we going to let him go?"

Meng Changxiu's gaze was like a torch, staring at Du Old. After thinking for a moment, he said, "If you sincerely surrender, my Meng Family will do our utmost to find a way to help you remove the Doom Poison Gu."

Meng Yunfan and Meng Yunxuan were kidnapped, and this matter was closely related to the Chen Family. As for the matter of the so-called Guardian behind Du Old coercing and luring various Foundation Establishment cultivator families, he would immediately report it to the Chen Family.

Such insidious villains operating in the dark, if they were to gain power, would be a nightmare for Foundation Establishment families like theirs. Rather than that, it would be better to let the Chen Family continue to be the leader of the Qingya Mountain Range.

Fortunately, he had left a mark on Hu Changqing. If he could find the Guardian's location through Hu Changqing, then by cooperating with the Chen Family to capture that Insect cultivator, it wouldn't be impossible to obtain the Doom Poison Gu antidote formula.

Chen Jiancang, Chen Youming, and Chen Jianyue exchanged glances and said nothing more. A First Order top-grade Formation Master was a rare talent for a Foundation Establishment Family like the Meng Family, but for the Chen Family, it was nothing remarkable, after all, the Chen Family had a Second Order Formation Master.

They had no prejudice against the Meng Family's act of trying to recruit a Formation Master.

Du Old sighed deeply, thinking that since death was inevitable one way or another, he might as well take a gamble. He gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, Meng Clan Leader, I will believe you this once. I am willing to swear a Dao Heart oath and serve the Meng Family from now on."

The Meng Family members all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Du Old agree. Meng Changxiu immediately arranged for Meng Changyi to take Du Old to treat his injuries, and at the same time ordered people to strengthen the search of the valley to prevent any other stragglers from escaping.

Meng Yunfan and Meng Yunxuan had already been rescued at this time. The two embraced, tears streaming down their faces, but no matter how the Meng Family members questioned the reason, they both refused to speak about their kidnapping experience.

And at this time, in a hidden mountain cave deep within the Qingya Mountain Range, that mysterious Guardian was in a furious rage.

"Trash! You can't even handle such a small matter, and you were actually tracked to my insect lair where I raise Giant Pincer Demon Scorpions." The Guardian roared angrily, and a subordinate in front of him trembled with fear.

A hint of pain appeared on the Guardian's face. Those Giant Pincer Demon Scorpions were not easy to cultivate. If they could reproduce for another cycle, with the cooperation between the Giant Pincer Demon Scorpions, they would be able to contend against a Foundation Establishment cultivator without defeat, unlike now where they could only block for a moment before facing the fate of being slaughtered.

"I wonder if Du Qianhe managed to escape?" The Insect Cultivator Protector didn't know the final outcome either, and said through gritted teeth: "It's best if he comes back alive. He actually dared to conceal his Formation cultivation."

If he had known earlier that Du Qianhe had the level of a First Order top-grade Formation Master, how could he have arranged for Du Qianhe to be used as cannon fodder? If he had known earlier that he was a First Order top-grade Formation Master, many of his plans could have been deployed and implemented in advance.

"Hmph, the Meng Family, the Chen Family, I will definitely not let them off." A fierce look flashed in the Insect Cultivator Protector's eyes. "Keep a close watch on the Meng Family's movements for me, especially Du Qianhe. If he dares to betray me, I will make sure he dies without a complete corpse."

"And that trash Hu Changqing, neither of the two plans succeeded. What is he doing now? Tell him to scram back and see me."

"Yes, Guardian." The subordinate quickly responded, then hurriedly retreated.